Soul Stars
by Cliodhna
Summary: A rewrite of a fic first posted in 2008. Dawn remembers when she discovered an ancient spell that took her to the North Star and back, in her quest to find Buffy's soul mate.     Inspired by Sabrina.


Disclaimer: All characters belong to Joss Whedon, but this fic is inspired by the final episode of Sabrina the Teenage Witch, created by Nell Scovell and written by Dan Berendsen. Some of the dialogue is from Sabrina's series finale.

A/N: This is a rewrite of one of the first fics I ever posted! But over the years, I reckon my writing – and my understanding of the characters – has improved a lot, and I still love this idea, so I thought I'd rewrite it and get it up to a better standard. Plus I just rewatched the last episode of Sabrina and got all nostalgic. Enjoy!

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**Soul Stars**

I groan as I bend to collect the numerous glasses from my coffee table. Anya of course, used a different glass for every cocktail she consumed, and I, as usual, broke one. Giles had swept the pieces up and placed them in my sink, ready to be washed down the disposal.

Everyone else left hours ago, but as is their custom, Buffy and Spike stayed a little later. Not to help – just for a little family time. It had been their party after all, though I don't know how I ended up hosting. Thirty years married. I place the glasses beside the sink and reach for the faucet to wash down the pieces of broken glass…when suddenly the image of the jagged crystal reminds me of something. A spell I cast, just over thirty years ago. Back when Sunnydale was recovering from the reign of the Trio. Xander and Anya were still broken up after their failed first wedding, Spike had won himself a soul, and Willow was recuperating after Tara's death and her subsequent attempts at bringing about the apocalypse. She was studying witchcraft again with Giles. And things were fine. Not exactly good… but bearable. I mean, there was a lot missing. Everyone was just…stagnant. I decided that I needed to take action, and my first mission was to confirm my belief that Spike and Buffy were meant for each other, and it was just stubbornness or stupidity standing in their way. So I was in my room in the house on Revello Drive, where Buffy and Spike still live…and I was reading an old magic book of Tara's. I could hear Buffy and Spike making dinner downstairs; they were laughing. It sounded nice. I turned a page…and there it was. A chapter entitled 'Soul Stones.'

X

'In order to collect a Soul Stone, one must travel to the North Star.' I studied the page, scanning the ingredients for the portal. 'Pour Kava Kava powder in a pentagram and chant the following incantation.' I sighed. 'Pentagrams and incantations…' After what I'd seen magic do to my family, I wasn't keen to get in too deep. But the concept of a Soul Stone…the very essence of a person…that could help everyone get back on track! They would know for sure how the course of love was supposed to go, and…well, frankly, it was something to do. It was a slow year.

I found the Kava Kava powder in Willow's magic cabinet and I poured it around myself in the pentangle shape. It was a dull off-white colour. I peered at the book; it said that Kava Kava was supposed to induce sociability and harmony, and when ingested in large doses is used as an aphrodisiac. I figured that made a lot of sense, actually. I lit some tapers and placed them at the points of the pentagram; consulted the book one last time, and settled in to do the spell.

'Astrum habitum refero,' I said softly, closing my eyes. 'Animus reperio diligo…' I inhaled; the scent of the candles was making me heady. 'Astrum nunquam somnus.'

I repeated the phrases a few more times, each one coming easier than the last, despite the fact that my Latin skills were basically zero. The spell was taking hold and I could feel magic swelling in me. Suddenly, my eyes flew open, and the room dissolved in a shower of sparks. When the shimmering finally stopped, I unsteadily got to my feet. The sky was black here, but the rocky ground glowed blue. I was standing on the surface of the brightest celestial body in the night sky.

'Wow, what a trip,' I muttered, looking around. 'Hello?' I called.

'Welcome to the North Star system. May I help you?' a voice answered me, as if from some invisible PA system.

'Hi, I'm Dawn Summers,' I said, still trying to see where the tinny voice came from. 'I think I know who my sister's soul mate is, but she doesn't want to hear it and so -'

'The exact nature of your problem, please?' the voice interrupted me, sounding a little impatient.

'I'm looking for my sister's soul stone, and a couple others too,' I answered, my brain whirring. In case Buffy and Spike weren't meant to be, I should check out Buffy's other prospects too.

'Names?' the voice asked.

'Buffy Summers and…Riley Finn.' Start with the least likely.

'Species?' The voice sounded bored.

'Human. Well, Buffy's the slayer.'

The star began to twist and dissolve. It faded in and out of focus until I felt my head spinning. Suddenly, it became dense and real again, and I was standing in a city of enormous shelves, stretching away left and right, billions of glowing diamond-like stones lined up and labelled on every shelf. The one right at my eye line read 'Buffy Anne Summers, Vampire Slayer. 1981-present.' To her left was a stone labelled 'Kendra Young, Vampire Slayer. 1980-1998,' and the stone on her right was labelled 'Faith Lehane, Vampire Slayer. 1981-present.' I reached for the one in the middle, Buffy's stone, and when I did, the world disappeared again. While the star reformed itself, I studied Buffy's stone. It was a rough semicircle, with one jagged edge. It was about an inch thick and had a moving, laughing image of Buffy inside it. My surroundings solidified again, and I reached for the stone with Riley's name on it, and I placed his half with Buffy's. The two tiny images turned to look at each other, but couldn't – the semicircles didn't line up. Riley wasn't Buffy's soul mate. 'Thank God,' I said, placing Riley's back on his shelf. 'This is surprisingly intense,' I muttered. 'Angel, now, please?' I asked loudly. 'He's a vampire with a soul.'

'There's only two of those,' the voice said as the shelves in front of me shimmered out of sight and the star realigned itself. When the spinning stopped, two stones lay side by side in front of me. One read 'Liam O'Donnell, Ensouled Vampire. 1727-1753-present.'

The other; 'William Pratt, Ensouled Vampire. 1853-1880-present.'

It was the moment of truth. I picked up Angel's soul stone and looked at it for a moment. His handsome face smiled back at me from inside the stone. I pressed it to Buffy's stone. The stones shone for a split second and the images inside beamed at each other. They matched! 'Buffy and Angel!' I gasped. 'But wait…' I looked closer. The images inside still couldn't touch each other. There was a tiny gap between the two stones. They wouldn't quite fit together.

'That's a very close match,' the voice said, sounding less bored now. 'As close as many people will ever get,' she continued. 'They could live a wonderful life together. But they're not soul mates.'

My hands shook as I placed Angel's stone back on the shelf, and picked up Spike's. The last stone I could think of. If not him…then who? I held it in my hand. It felt warm. Something pulsed through me. I knew. I didn't press them together. That would come later.

'I'd like to go home now, please?' I started to say, but before I could finish, my world was spinning again. Slowly, my bedroom began to shimmer into focus and I landed lightly in the middle of my pentagram. Blowing out the candles around me, I checked the clock on my nightstand. No time had passed since I left. Buffy and Spike were still making dinner; the smell of fried chicken was wafting up the stairs. I scanned the room for the stones, they had bounced out of my hands when I landed. Two little blue boxes lay side by side just outside the pentagram. I grabbed them and bounded downstairs.

'Buffy?' I walked into the kitchen to see her and Spike chopping vegetables on the island counter.

'Yeah, she said, batting Spike's hands away as he attempted to steal a chunk of carrot. 'Why, Spike, you don't even taste it!'

Spike shrugged, grinning. 'Habit,' he said, and popped it in his mouth.

Buffy rolled her eyes, but she was smiling. 'I have something for you both,' I said, placing the boxes on the counter, and walking out of the room. And then, naturally, pausing outside the door to listen.

'Prezzies?' Buffy said, sounding confused and hopeful. Spike open each of the boxes and place the stones next to each other.

'No, they're Soul Stones,' Spike said, his voice filled with wonder. 'From the North Star.'

'The North Star?' Buffy repeated, sounding flummoxed. 'Hey, look,' she pointed to the little images inside the stones. 'They're us!'

Spike nudged the stones together. The jagged edges melted away and the semicircles fused together. The figures inside wrapped their arms around each other in a fierce kiss.

'They're- they're kissing, Spike,' Buffy said, her voice slightly higher than normal.

'They're soul mates, Buffy,' Spike said, his voice still tinged with awe. He looked at her, and as they leaned into each other, I left my spot behind the door and headed back upstairs to finish my book.

X

That was then. This is now. They were never apart again. A few months later they were married. Or as close to married as a girl and a hundred-plus year old vampire can be. And like I thought, after that, everything fell together. Buffy's always been the gravitational pull of our little family. When she's happy…things work. Xander and Anya realised their fate was to be together. Willow grew stronger with the love and support of all of us, and to maintain as normal a relationship as possible, Spike discovered a glamour that could be cast on him so he'd appear to age with Buffy. And now, as I wash the jagged pieces of crystal - so reminiscent of those magical soul stones - down the disposal unit until the sink is gleaming and glass free, Buffy and Spike will be walking the short distance to Revello Drive, holding hands. Side by side. Soul mates. Forever.

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A/N: Yeah I know it's not cool to be revamping old fics when I should be working on finishing new ones, but this just couldn't stay online in its old state. So review please, and look out for updates of my other fics soon!


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